What Beholds Us
by say-your-sorry
Summary: Based right after Necropolis. The Five are split around the world yet again. Now they have to find each other... again. WARNING: HUGE SPOILERS! On hiatus right now, but I'm working on it...
1. At A Loss

_If I got some of the parts of the book wrong, please tell me. Even though I just read it, it's amazing how much I forgot or overlooked, especially in the older books.(the little details, which I wanted to know) So, this is my guess as to what will happen.. sort of._

_**WARNING**: BIG SPOILERS.. and really, only people who have read Necropolis should read it. Sorry!_

Disclaimer: Don't own anything thats in the books!

**At A Loss**

A movie preview played in front of him, with flashes of exciting and dramatic scenes wrapped up into thirty seconds. If only those directors knew real action. Matthew Freeman was sitting in a run-down motel in Glasgow, Scotland, with Lohan, who was currently wrapped up in a phone call, pacing back and forth, spitting out Chinese at a very fast rate.

Although he may have had a father that was probably close to a billionaire, and even he, just a young man around twenty, in the business that he's in, must have been at least a millionaire, Lohan didn't have much money on him. Or maybe he was just saving it, being that this was a dire situation. So they stayed in a motel that I'm sure he would never had stayed at by choice. It was small and smelled – not as bad as Hong Kong had – with two double beds, one which Matt was sitting on, and a T.V. on top of a dresser. Over the beds was a cheap, thin wooden head board with little detail. It had cracked when Lohan had thrown his cell phone at it, yelling in anger. Matt hadn't even flinched.

Lohan was displeased, but frankly, so was Matt. This had turned out all wrong! All five of them had finally met up, but for barely a second. After Scott had saved Jamie, Scarlett was shot instead. They were rushed out by the typhoon and had ran into the door – without knowing where to go. They all must have arrived at different places. And now, two days after, Matt felt hopeless and lost and defeated. So instead of concentrating on all that, he gazed at the T.V., trying to take an interest in what was being said.

He and Lohan had ended up in Glasgow from a door in the Glasgow Cathedral on Castle Street. Lohan, however surprised as he may have been, got right to business as soon as the shock wore off. He had rushed Matt to a motel and spent the past two days talking on his phone. Although, Lohan had accomplished nothing yet.

Soon after the head board cracked, Lohan picked up his cellphone. It wasn't even scratched. He dialed a number and talked for a long time, while Matt watched a documentary on a cult. Somehow the leader had made the whole town commit suicide. He didn't want to find out and quickly turned it off.

A loud ceiling fan whirled overhead and Matt started listening to that, trying really hard not to think of the complete horror of this situation. Suddenly, Lohan spoke, "Very good news, Matt," The boy's head jerked up. Wonderful, good news was exactly what he needed at that moment. "Mr. Cole had managed to call the Master of the Mountain. Apparently, Mr. Cole had kept the phone that the Master had given him.

"That's great! How is he? Is he still with Scarlett?" A surge of hope soared through Matt. But then he realized it was still only one Gatekeeper. That still leaves three. But Richard would be a big help, and he liked the idea of having someone he knew around. Matt had no idea what to think of Lohan.

Lohan frowned and it seemed like he was almost disappointed at his enthusiasm, "He is alive, she is still with him."

Matt waited for him to say something else and soon got impatient, "Nothing else? I'm sure Richard didn't just call in to let him know everything is okay!" The boy had raised his voice. It was almost like this man didn't care. Matt needed answers right now.

"You forgot that Scarlett-" He pronounced the two syllables separately, as if they were two completely different words. He must be used to calling her Lin Mo as well. "-had been hurt. Mr. Cole had called to let him know that _she_ was okay. They are in Italy." For that moment, Scarlett had totally slipped his mind and he felt a twinge of guilt. But that soon passed because she was alright, though he wondered how. All five Gatekeepers may not have been together, but they were still alive and untouched, for the moment. Matt was sure that the Old Ones would only know about the few doors that have been used already.

Italy. That was much better than China, Matt thought.

"How did she get 'okay' so quickly?" Matt asked. The image of Scarlett's body crumpling after the shot flashed in his mind.

"Richard did not say. It was just a quick phone call. It seemed as if he had more to do," Lohan told him. Maybe Richard is trying to contact the Nexus. Maybe this would all be resolved quickly. "Are you hungry?"

And then that was that, there was no more talk about Richard and Scarlett for the rest of the day. "Not really."

Another thought popped into Matt's head. "What's going to happen with you?"

"I'm going to stay with you." He said and looked at the boy with slightly curious eyes. Then Lohan smiled warmly at him and his scar contorted. "It would be my pleasure."

"Why? Han Shan-tung's business has all blown away. Why would you still help me?" Suspicion lurked into Matt's eyes. It didn't add up. Sr. Shan-tung made it clear he wouldn't help them if there was nothing to gain.

"Why?! Our ancestors would be rolling in their graves, that's why! Although we may have changed the goal of this organization, we have always respected the old ways and rituals. I'm sure you know that by now," Lohan explained, a slight tinge of annoyance in not only his voice but his face as well, his scar moving and twisting in accordance with his emotions. "You mistrust my father?" He had taken on a more serious tone and Matt responded quickly by shaking his head 'no'. "You misunderstand him, then. He is not as 'evil' as you think," Lohan glared at him with contempt. Matt looked up at the ceiling fan, it's droning toneless but now it had become deafening. Matt looked up at Lohan's face; he was still glaring, but this time with something else was in his eyes. "I am going for some food. Are you sure you don't want anything?"

"No, I'm good," Matt said quickly, shaking his hands in front of him. Lohan nodded at him and left. Matt now knew not to anger him. The man may have forgotten some of his credit cards but Matt was sure he didn't forget his weapon. He had it in Victoria Prison when they were saving Scarlett and he was sure to still have it. Besides the gun, it was not good to make him angry because without him it would be much harder. Matt wasn't an adult and with Lohan, he could get much farther, like going on a plane, and if need be, drive to where ever they're heading next. Matt also had no money and no protection without him.

And then Matt began to worry about the rest of the Five. How is Pedro, Jamie and Scott? Scarlett may have been okay, but what if the others walked into some place that was covered with Nightrise agents or Chaos's hidden army? They have to get from where ever they are to... There was no place for us to meet. They have no idea where they are going! Pedro, Jamie and Scott could be anywhere, all separated, with no goal, no where to go or be! That just makes it even more difficult. Hopefully Scarlett doesn't get taken again. It's like I'm back to the start, he thought. They're just people now. Four people he needed to find of the billions there is on this planet. Hopelessness sank in. Desperation. He would give anything just to know where they are, or at least if they're safe or not.

It was too late. There was no one he could bargain with. He could only hope that the Nexus had some sort of clue or sighting of one of them. Most of all, he counted on Susan Ashwood. He was skeptical before of her talents, and for one moment, her sanity. Next he had gotten used to the fact she thought she could speak to ghosts. What did it matter, her thoughts were always correct, so who cares where she got the hint from? And now, now he fully understood. She could talk to ghosts. Plain and simple. He was sure of it and thankful for it. Without her amazing abilities, he wouldn't have gotten as far as he had. Or at least not as quick as he had. She would tell him what to do. Matt sat back on the bed, staring up at the out-of-date ceiling fan. It had lowered the temperature dramatically and he pulled a thin blanket over him, too tired to shut it off. He relaxed.

But he couldn't fool himself. Somehow he didn't believe that she would have some sort of hint as to where any of the other boys and girl were. Soon he fell into a haunted and distressed sleep that was all too familiar.

Matt was back in the humongous library. He looked up and saw the librarian smirk, "It's your choice. If you don't want to read it, you won't ever know until it happens. You read it, you can find out now." For the second time, the Librarian placed it in his hands. Matt breathed in. 'You can find out now.' He weighed those words. Did he want to? Well, of course he did.

Matt lifted it and noticed it was much thinner than some of the others on the shelves. Was it just him, or has it gotten even more so? No, it was just him. As he thought, time seemed to slow down, almost stop completely. He looked around him. The dust particles hung in the air and they reminded him of flies stuck in a spider web. He blinked. "Is it a matter of 'do I want to?'" He considered his self-asked question in his head. "Or is it about what's right, what's fair?" The first Matt was able to do this with out a stupid book telling him what will happen, he could do it too.

Matt looked into the other man's metallic eyes with his head held high. "No. I don't want to read it. And I never will."

He walked out of the door. The five circles on it seemed to be glowing.


	2. Quick Thinking

**Quick Thinking**

Matt woke up with a start and wiped his sweaty brow with the back of his hand. Something wasn't right.

He looked out the window. It was dim and clouded outside, giving the view of a street outside a very grimy effect. Across the street, only some of the windows were blazing with light. It must have been late evening. He pulled a blanket off of him and realized he was still in his clothes. He shrugged; the Nexus would be willing enough to buy him some more. Although, he must have smelled quite bad. He hadn't taken a shower for a couple days, mostly out of laziness or hopelessness. It hadn't seemed like they were going anywhere soon, anyways. Of course, they didn't know where to go until then.

The boy pulled himself out of the bed. Lohan was sleeping stomach down on the other bed, snoring quietly. His feet dragged across the floor to the bathroom and turned on the light. It stunned him for seconds and took a while for him to get used to the light. He rubbed his eyes and wondered how long he had been sleeping for. His eyes met the mirrors edge and he stepped into it, looking at himself. The hair on his head was sticking up in places and smoothed down on others. Below, his eyebrows twisted and relaxed with half open blue eyes that scrutinized his face. His lips remained in a solemn line.

Pushing down the feeling of amiss, Matt took off his clothes and stepped into the small shower. The water streamed down, a lot cooler than he would have wanted. Several minutes later he was done his shower, dressed in his only clothes, shaking his hair dry with a towel. When he was done he carelessly threw it back in the shower. The maid would clean it up later, he thought. With one final glance behind his shoulder at the mirror, he turned his head toward the door and grabbed the door knob.

And then he smelt it.

He didn't smell burning. He smelt garbage. A horrid, awful smell that was a strange combination of dusty, damp, and something utterly scorched. It filled his nose and he retracted from the door, his fingers soon pinching his nostrils, plugging the smell from coming in them. He closed his eyes, squeezing them shut to concentrate harder, wondering where the smell was coming from.

And then he heard it:

"Room service."

It had a rough, ghastly voice that almost sounded like feet crunching against gravel that was loud enough to hear from the bathroom between closed doors. Obviously, it wasn't anyone working for the hotel. He hadn't called in for anything and by the sounds of Lohan's snoring he hadn't called in recently either. Matt opened his eyes and they leaped around the small room. Suddenly, the conclusion came to him: it wasn't human. He sucked in his breath and looked behind him to see a small window. He wasn't sure if he'd fit. What if he was wrong and it was nothing?

Then Matt's head flew up. A loud crash had come from the room that he had just been sleeping in. Someone had burst the door open, probably off its hinges. The boy raced to the window; he had decided quickly. He climbed atop the sink and tried to worm his way to the window. It took him minutes and those were costly. Another loud sound came from the hotel room. It was someone screaming. Lohan. Matt almost got down from the window and ran in to help him. He wanted to, but gunshots came quickly after and he knew Lohan would be just fine. Although, after the gunshots he swore he heard the thing laugh. More screams and gunshots followed but he tuned them out.

Matt directed his attention back to the window. He didn't think it would be necessary to break the glass; it was one of those windows that just slide open. Opening it would be easy. Getting through however, would be the hard part. The window width was a lot less than his shoulders. If he goes in at an angle it might work...

His mind was a mess; he didn't know what to do. The bullets might slow the monster down, but nothing more than that! Should he just escape, and leave Lohan to his doom? Again, his question was answered for him. Another, louder scream and then glass shattering. Lohan had done the smart thing. This was just a simple motel. He wouldn't get killed from jumping out of a window and it was another obstacle for whatever was in the other room, to provide distance between the both of them.

Matt lifted the bottom part of the window up. He heaved his torso through it. The door knob was shaking; whoever was on the other side was trying to open it. He used his legs to push him through and his arms to hold him up. The window was too small. His shirt was tearing. Matt's hand tried to grip some stucco on the outside wall. Someone was chuckling on the other side of the door, he wasn't imagining it. With his newly found grip-hold, he used it to force himself onto more of an angle, so he was in line with the bottom-left and top-right corners. A loud bang went off behind him and something fell, then a short clink sound.

It took Matt some time to realize what it was. The thing had knocked off the door knob. It spoke, muffled through the door, "Where are you going?" The voice this time was so full of menace that Matt wanted to jump back down. He didn't know where the feelings came from, but it took a lot of effort to not drop back down to the bathroom floor. Hurriedly, Matt lifted his legs, pushing with whatever strength he had left.

The door opened.

With one final push Matt fell on the dead grass outside. And he ran.


	3. White

_Great! This was the only place I could describe without having to do any research! Hopefully it shows.. Mostly a filler.. This has to be the most boring chapter in the world. Oh well, have fun reading it!_

Disclaimer: Yeah.. w/e. Don't own the books.

**White**

As soon as he shut the door the only thing he felt was cold. Unforgiving, bitter and paralysing cold. In an instinctive act, Pedro brought his arms up to hug himself, and kept the warmth in. Wind blared at his cheeks and his ears already felt numb. He brought his hands up to his ears, trying to heat them up, but as soon as he did his arms felt cold again and he wished he was wearing more clothes. The boy's eyes started to water. His nose felt horribly cold, then numb. Everything was cold.

This was the last place he would have wanted to be. Pedro was used to heat, used to the sun burning at his neck instead of the floating snowflakes landing on it. Snow. It was a word that was deep in his mind, long forgotten. It had been a long time since he had seen any, and now it was all he saw. He turned, and looked all around him. White was the only colour he saw, other than the sky. It wasn't the glorious blue he was used to. There wasn't even a sun! It was grey. Just a darker shade of white.

The land was the worse though. No cities, no buildings, not even a house. Actually, it seemed like nothing grew here. Who would want to live here anyways? It reminded him of a desert. Not one tree sprouted from the ground. He didn't see any animals scurrying around. All he saw was a hill or two near him, and then out in the distance, huge mountains, only a silhouette of a light grey against the white snow and a darker grey sky. He twisted around and looked at the door. Amazingly, it wasn't covered in snow. Pedro reached out his arm to touch it. It was warm. His whole body lurched toward it and he hugged the door, feeling the great warmth. Finally, after lengthy minutes, he turned again and put his back against it.

What was he doing? Why even bother? Pedro spun around and grabbed at the door knob. He turned and pulled.

It didn't open.

He tried again and again. It wouldn't open! Panic struck him. What was he supposed to do? Wander off into the freezing terrain, looking for some sign of human life? No one's going to be anywhere near here. Of course, he would need food and food would be near people. He thought about it, but then decided to just stay where he was, absorbing the warmth of the door. It was better than freezing to death.

Pedro leaned against it. If he was lucky, someone might even wander over and find him. If he wasn't lucky, he would starve. But right then, he didn't care. He felt tired, and he just needed to relax for a moment. Soon a moment turned into a while, and a while into an hour.

His ears were so cold that they felt like they were burning. He hugged the door again and pressed his right ear against it. The warmth made it worse, but he knew eventually it would go away.

Right now, he hated this. Pedro was never one to pout and act childish, but that was only because he wasn't allowed to. With Sebastian it would be useless to cry and complain. If Pedro did, the man would scold him, take away any food Pedro was going to eat that day, and then Sebastian wouldn't look at him the rest of the day. When Pedro was really young, it was the latter that he hated above all else. Once as a young boy, he had rolled around on the floor, screaming because the man wouldn't pay him any attention. Sebastian only walked out of the room and got one of the old women to come in. She had whipped Pedro's hand with a scrap piece of rubber, _hard_. He still cried after that, but soon he shut himself up and did the work he had to do.

Now, all he wanted to do was shout and scream and cry all at the same time. Maybe he should. Someone might hear it.

So he did.

He didn't know whether to scream out in Spanish or English, so he didn't bother with words. He just screamed. Two times. The first time another scream returned to him, so he shouted again. Then he realized it was only an echo.

He sighed. No one would be close enough to hear him. It was hopeless to try. He might as well go out and find someone to help him, or die trying.

Pedro looked around. The hard part now would be deciding on a direction to take. From where he was standing all the eye could see was nothing, except for the hills, which disrupted his view to the left of him. He decided to take it, thinking that there could be something behind it that would point him in a direction to take. There wasn't.

As soon as he scrambled over the hill, snow filled his shoes and covered his legs. The sight was just the same. Nothing except for more hills. Pedro looked behind him, and it looked just as promising as what was in front of him, so he continued walking that way. More snow got in his shoes, and he ignored it. If he emptied his shoes, it wasn't going to make a a huge difference. In three steps there would be just as much in them again.

About ten minutes later, Pedro was regretting leaving the door. Firstly, his whole body felt numb. He wanted to chop his ears off, snow was covering his face, and he couldn't stop his teeth from chattering. Secondly, this was hopeless! Maybe Matt or someone else in the five would have stumbled out of the door and he would have been saved! Maybe he just had to try the other side! It was silly wandering about this Arctic desert with no sense of where to go. Not even the sense that there was any where to go. But Pedro continued on. He was sure he didn't walk in a straight line from the door and he wasn't sure that he would find his way back. His foot prints were being covered by snow as the seconds went by and when he looked back, other than the few he had just stepped, he couldn't even see any.

As Pedro stumbled on, he closed his eyes, trying to imagine the hot sun that he was used to. He tried to convince himself that it wasn't snow falling down on him, it was the heat rays from the sun. That his neck wasn't frost-bitten, just sun burnt. That that was what his whole body felt. Heat. He tried, but it didn't work. In fact, it made him even more frigid and cold. Pedro imagined himself again in the sun, but this time he was melting all the cold off of him. That didn't help either.

It was getting harder and harder to continue on. He didn't know whether to stop, or go back. He wanted to rest, but that would just mean wasting time. He didn't want to waste time. So he started walking faster. His legs felt like stones beneath him, but he forced them to move faster. It helped a little with the cold. He forced himself to run. After some minutes he could feel some sweat. The warmth of it wasn't helping as much as he imagined, but he continued to run.

The terrain was getting rougher. In some patches it was icy, some were rocky with snowy grass in the cracks. Yet the ground was still mostly covered with soft snow. It was getting harder and harder to run. He forced himself on. From the time he had left the door he guessed that 30 minutes had gone by.

He looked up and smiled. A small, green plant was two paces away. He ran for it and stole it from the ground. It was very small and its stem separated near the top, making it look like a fork. The leaf-like things on it shot up and curved, giving it a eerie effect. Pedro's eyes scanned the ground. Around him now, did he realize, that there was always lots of life. Many little plants and grasses covered the ground; he just hadn't noticed them before. They were mostly buried in the snow.

He smiled again. It was nice to know he wasn't the only thing alive. He tried biting on it, but it wasn't edible. He dropped it and started running again.

It was harder running this time. Pedro was getting tired. He wanted to sleep, very badly. It was a challenge keeping his eyes open. All he wanted to do was close his eyes and dream of the sun. But he knew he shouldn't.

Suddenly, his head shot up.

Something had caught his eyes.

Was he imagining things? A flash of red, then nothing.

It all went black after that. He had fainted in the snow.


	4. Light and Dark

_Thanks for the reviews! I appreciate all of them. Seriously, I had shivers of joy when I read them. SHIVERS. OF. JOY. _

Disclaimer: Power o' Five is not mine.

**Light and Dark**

Scott blinked. For a minute he wondered if he was back in Nevada. He was looking at a rocky valley and through that lay a humongous mountain, with a white top that reminded Scott of icing on a cake. The mountain seemed... different. He had to admit, it was a great sight in front of his eyes.

So that was the first reason he knew it wasn't Nevada.

The other reasons were just little details. The rock all around him wasn't as red or as rough as it can be in Nevada and when it isn't like that, usually there are trees smothering the mountains. As far as Scott could see, not a tree was growing anywhere near. It was much colder here too. Not cold enough to make him shiver, though. He was in a long sleeve shirt and jeans, so he would be just fine. And, he didn't know how to explain it, but somehow here it just felt cleaner. No, that wasn't the word. More pure, that fit.

There was nothing stopping Scott from walking away and trying to find a way back to his brother, nothing. But he didn't want to. He liked this feeling around him. He didn't feel pressured or worried or nervous. He just felt calm and relaxed. It would have been so easy for him to have just turned around and leaped through that door to fulfill his duties as a Gatekeeper, but someone will find him eventually. Right now, he just wanted to see that mountain closer up. It was all that mattered.

Scott went with his gut feeling and headed toward the mountain. He inhaled and fresh air filled his lungs. Even without any vegetation, this place seemed like a story book setting, with unicorns and little elves. It seemed magical.

The boy started moving quicker. The valley was much longer than it had appeared, and it almost felt like he _needed_ to get closer. Maybe he could make it to the mountain today, maybe even start climbing up by evening. Then maybe he'd even make it up the mountain the next day. Sounds like a plan, he thought.

But it was a really bad one. After three hours of speed-walking, he wasn't even a quarter of the way. Now his path stretched on even more, and the mountain seemed even bigger. He trudged on. He didn't care if it took him a week, he was determined to reach it.

Only, he didn't know why.

* * *

Jamie ran out, shutting the door behind him. He was breathing heavily. Black surrounded him.

_Scott._

He waited, but his brother didn't reply. Jamie would have worried about his safety – what if he was captured again? – but even though Jamie couldn't hear him in his mind, he could feel him. He would try again later. Scott was probably concentrated on something else.

Jamie stopped running. He was safe here, where ever here was. It was dark. Jamie reached out, to grab a hold of something. His arms swung around desperately trying to find a wall that connects to the door, but suddenly he had lost the door. Minutes went by and still he had not felt anything but the breeze of air through his fingers. He forced himself to stay calm and starting to walk around, stretching his arms out as far as they would reach. His finger tips touched nothing.

_Scott!_

Jamie waited. He was desperate. This dark made him more scared than ever before and he didn't feel as safe. He drew in a weak, shaky breath and called out to his brother again:

_Scott, where are you?_

Seconds passed. He was aware that his palms had become very sweaty and he wiped them on his jeans.

_I don't know._

Jamie was filled with relief and oddly, he felt very safe again.

_Scott, I don't know where I am either. It's all dark. I can't see anything and I haven't ran into anything. It's like I'm trapped in a pitch black desert. The only thing I know that's here is the ground. _ Jamie was exasperated. How had he gotten into this mess? Well, it was all Matt's idea... He frowned and forced himself to oust the blame from his mind. The Five needed to come together now, not fall apart.

_Well, where I am – it's, it's ... nice. There's this mountain. It's ... nice, too. I don't know how to describe it. I've been walking all day. I just want to get to it. But look, Jamie, don't panic. That'll get you into trouble. If it is a desert, there won't be water for a long while. You need to wait until morning. It'll all be okay, I'm sure. That girl, she's probably okay. She's got Richard with her. Matt, he might not be so well off, but I'm sure nothing will happen to him that he won't be able to handle. Pedro might just be back at Peru. He might have been thinking about his country and ended up back there. He can speak Spanish, so he'll be okay. That other guy, he could be with either of them, and that would just help them out a lot. Jamie, just don't panic._

Jamie had been holding his breath as his brother spoke. He knew his brother was trying to reassure him, but even so, something seemed really off. Why would he want to get to a mountain so badly? He's spent his whole life surrounded by mountains, why is this one so special? Could it be the Old Ones pulling him in? Jamie knew one thing though, his brother shouldn't go near it.

_Scott, stop walking, __**now**__._

_What? What is it?_

_Don't go near the mountain. I don't like the sounds of it. It could be the Old Ones! What if they capture you again?! The mountain is probably evil and ... I don't want to see you in their hands again._

Jamie strained his mind to hear his brothers response.

_Jamie, you don't know what you're talking about. _He could sense the anger and tension in Scott's response, and he regretted saying anything. _The Old Ones – they don't exist here. You don't know what you are talking about! This place, this mountain, it's not evil! Good luck finding your way, because I've got a mountain to climb._

_Scott... You know you've got to be careful._

He didn't respond.

_... Scott?_

He waited a few minutes with bated breath. Nothing. Great, Scott was mad at him, he was stuck in a dark, endless place and it hadn't got any lighter at all. Jamie didn't care what Scott said, he wanted to go walk around. It couldn't be a desert – he had bent down and felt the ground. It was only rough gravel, not hot sand. He stumbled on. He didn't know how long it had been, but to him if felt like hours. There was no way to tell the time here. It was like he was in outer space, even the air he breathed in felt out-of-earthly. He walked on and on. Jamie didn't feel tired, he just felt agitated and annoyed for not finding anything. Not a tree or a wall. This was a land of nothing.

Of course, Jamie crashed into a thick rock soon after he thought that. Feeling overjoyed, his hands scrambled around it. Quickly, he thought of which direction he should go in. Right or left? Eventually he picked right. He might as well stick to the superstitious side of things – he didn't need anything else to give him bad odds.

He kept his left hand on it and started running. It wasn't a rock, it was a wall. Maybe his was a city. His foot steps were echoing quite loudly. He stopped in his tracks. He wasn't outside, he was in. In a huge, dark chamber. He started running again, much faster than before. Jamie didn't know whether to stop and go the opposite direction to find a way out of here, or to continue going right. He hadn't run into anything out of the ordinary of a big, flat wall. Jamie continued going right, although he was feeling a bit claustrophobic. Even though this place was huge, there were no windows. Maybe he was underground...

The thought scared him even more, and he ran even faster. Suddenly, the wall disappeared from his palm. He reached for the wall he had just lost, found it and continued around the corner. A corner was good. It was different.

He was breathing hard. His eyes opened wide. At the end of the long corridor that he was now in, there was a speck of light. Jamie forgot about the wall and ran toward the light.

* * *

Scott woke up, stiff and cold from a night sleep on hard rock. It had gotten much, much colder here at night and he couldn't start a fire. But there was no use complaining about that now, he was so close to the mountain. He wouldn't bother walking today – he would run.

Maybe ten minutes later, Scott had reached the edge. An immense pleasure he had never felt before tore through him and before he knew it he was fighting a smile on his lips. He examined the mountain. It wasn't very steep, but as he had seen from the views getting there, it started out like a hill then little by little got steeper and steeper in a very uneven way. But that wouldn't keep him off of it. Nothing would. Not even Jamie.

His joy was gone and he remembered their conversation. Why would he say something so dumb and disapproving-like? The words made Scott feel like a baby and he didn't need taking care of.

But something else had happened too. Something made Scott feel overly protective of the mountain. He wouldn't think about it, his thoughts only on the glory of the towering mountain, even though he wasn't able to describe the mountain about its full effect. The only word that came to his mind was 'nice'. Nice? Maybe something was wrong with it. Or maybe it was just him. He shook the thoughts from his head and continued on his way.

Scott rushed up the mountain. Too fast. He was hungry and exhausted. He hadn't eaten since well before he had ran into the door that had taken him here. His stomach was grumbling so loudly that, although he would have given anything not to, he had to stop and rest.

He looked around him. It was an amazing sight. There were other mountains in the distance, more mountains sprinkled with white and hills of brownish-grey below them. He relaxed his head against the mountain which was surprisingly comfortable. He hoped to stay here all his life. He looked back to the scenery. It was still the same, but still very different from anything he'd seen before.

Then something caught his eye. He squinted. There was something in the distance. Against the dark rock Scott could easily see that it was bright red. And it was moving very quickly toward him.

He just didn't know what 'it' was.


	5. The Needle, the Effects: Part 1

_It was quite hard to write about Scarlett and I'm a girl! Oh well, eventually I got it down._

_Very, very, VERY sorry MadCatta!! Thanks for reading. :)_

_Oh and I just realized that theres another story (by maxridemad) that has Richard and Scarlett ending up in St. Meredith's too and Matt and Lohan ending up together as well, sooo just to let you guys know (MadCatta :P) I hadn't read any of that story till now. In fact, I tried to keep myself from reading any Gatekeeper stories so I wouldn't copy anything. (curiousity) Anyways, I don't even know if anyone cares._

_Also, was it Kowloon that they swam through?? I just looked at a map and the name sounded familiar. Help!!?_

Disclaimer: Don't own Richard or Scarlett, etc.

**The Needle, the Effects: Part 1**

Richard paced back and forth. Scarlett was in the room to his left, barely alive and he didn't know what to do. He had no money, no I.D. – his wallet had been lost at sea by the harsh waves of Kowloon – nothing to prove that he had Scarlett in his care legally He knew how creepy he must have looked, carrying a teenage girl in his arms with a fresh bullet wound in her chest. So he said he didn't know her, that he had just found her on the street like that and hoped the story fit. Now the hospital was getting in touch with her mother and father, numbers they had in her file. When Scarlett had been hit by the car, they had immediately called her parents. After that every time one of her parents would get a new cell phone or change their number, the first place they called was the hospital.

Richard was lucky. It seems Scarlett had been thinking of London when she was unconscious, and when they passed through the door they had ended up back in St. Meredith's. He was sure it was filled with evil now – in spirit and in the people that pray there everyday. It was disturbing to say the least, but none of them made a move to attack him or Scarlett – they probably thought she was dead – so he ran out of there as fast as he was able to. He made sure he wasn't followed and rushed to the nearest phone booth.

Being in a familiar place again makes Richard breathless, when they could have ended up anywhere. They didn't end up in some foreign country or a middle of nowhere. Which means, even though Scarlett's hurt, Richard had no excuse not to take action. He _needed_ to take action. Pedro, Jamie and Scott were all out there, anywhere. And Matt.

_Matt. _For the past hour or so, Richard had been fighting with himself over the fact he had let that boy out of his grasp, not for the first time. It amazed him how much time had passed since he met Matt in Greater Malling. They certainly had become like brothers and right then, he just wanted his little brother back.

* * *

Scarlett was awake. She felt strong and rejuvenated. She looked around her; there was a bright red and orange horizon and a few bare trees. A small, grey tower stood a distance away, surrounded by the colours of a late sunrise. Scarlett took a stance and started off toward it.

She was dreaming. She realized this as soon as she blinked. Scarlett looked down at her walking legs. This was not her real body. Her hands trailed up her lips to her forehead. This was not her real face. That much was obvious to her. Although she did not know why her conscious had dressed her up in armour with a helmet to match.

Scarlett was soon in front of the tower. It was a couple times as tall as her. The flag at the top was white with a strange black sign filled with arrows and curves. It was stained with red and she could only assume it was blood. Immediately she was curious and wanted to investigate. Along with slitted windows, there was a small opening at the bottom of the tower, that was covered with a square plank of wood; a doorway that would be big enough for a big dog. She threw the plank away and crawled in. Whoever built this wasn't used to wars. There was no roof on the tower and it had a ladder that lead down, not up. In the middle of it there was a hole, that went further down than she could see.

Her curiosity bubbled and she practically flew down the ladder. The armour was light, although there was something at her side that was weighing her down. Looking down to her left she saw that she was carrying a sword. She almost fell off the ladder in shock. But she supposed it should have been obvious. In what situation would you have to wear only armour, without a weapon at your side?

She continued down the ladder and stared at the dirt walls that surrounded her. Whoever built this place put a lot of effort into it. The ladder too, was built with skill. She had no worries that it would break under her weight. It was immeasurably long and was practically in perfect shape. Maybe this tower was not used much...

Quickly she went, looking up briefly every so often to see how much farther from the light she was. She wasn't affected with claustrophobia, but it seemed like the tunnel was getting smaller and smaller. Soon her shoulders were brushing against soft dirt and she hoped she would be able to squeeze through to whatever was at the bottom – if there was one. Finally, after the smallest part of the hole – which she had to kick and dig her way through – it opened into a huge dome. She couldn't guess how big it was, but she guessed that it was a bit bigger than your average high school and about as tall as a 8 story building.

She climbed down with a greater speed than before, not in the least afraid, hoping to reach the bottom as fast as she could. It was hard; her breath was coming out in tiny huffs and, dreaming or not, she felt the sweat on her forehead. The light from above was brighter than it had been before – the sun was out. Now she realized why there was no roof on the tower; it acted like a lamp for the giant space below.

It must have taken her an hour or two to get to the bottom from when she had started climbing. Now the bottom was in her sight. The bottom seemed to be filled with shallow water. It was very dark on the bottom floor – the light from the top diminished as it went down. When she was only a metre and a half from the bottom, she simply jumped down.

She definitely regretted it.

Her shriek filled the huge space and she jumped for the ladder. It wasn't water at the bottom, it was a giant pool of snakes, weaving in between one another, giving the illusion of calm waves. Her hand grasped the ladder and she pulled her feet on. The snakes started to make noise. The giant area was filled with hissing that was almost as deafening to Scarlett as her own heartbeat.

Scarlett had never been very scared of snakes. In fact that was the animal she most looked forward to seeing at the zoo – when it was behind a glass wall. Being in a huge room with them was enough to make her eyes bulge right out of her skull. She was glad she couldn't see them, because she could certainly hear them. Her hand, almost instinctively, reached for the sword. She took a deep breath, but stopped to think about what she was about to do. In no way did she want to be surrounded by them again, but what other choice did she have? It was just a dream – well, nightmare.

The young girl had decided. She jumped and took off away from the ladder, hoping she would do some damage with her feet. With a shout, she slashed and sliced, shutting her eyes as tight as they would go. She could feel the weight of the snakes under her blade and she didn't want to see the blood and gore. What she wanted was to wake up.

Finally, she couldn't take it anymore. Her eyes opened. Oddly, she was facing the ladder now, many metres away. Much farther than she imagined she had gone. Did she jump this far? No, that was impossible. Still fighting off the snakes – even though they weren't attacking her back – she reluctantly turned her head to see what was behind her. An odd, small door sat barely a metre away. It was round with a door knocker. Half of the knocker was a long serpent head, the other half a curved, threatening tongue. There wasn't a door knob anywhere on it. After seconds Scarlett turned her head again to the numerous snakes. She backed away, kicking her feet out behind her, knocking the little snakes away from her proximity. Although, she thought, why bother? They haven't made any attempt in fighting back. Other than the hissing, they haven't even noticed she was there.

So she forced herself to calm down and let them swim around and between her legs, never letting her eyes leave her legs unwatched. It was very difficult to walk through them, however. Either way, she made it to the quaint door.

Scarlett now saw the door in great detail. The door was very old; the wood was a dark grey and the iron of the snake was rusty in the corners. No matter how disappointing the door looked, they eyes of the snake made up for it. They were extremely big in comparison to the head. Both of them were made out of a black stone of some sort; maybe a black onyx. They seemed deadly, like the snake was about to strike its prey, yet beautiful. Beneath her, the snakes quickened their speed.

She reached for the knocker. Her slim fingers grasped the tongue. The metal was cold and damp beneath her fingers. She raised it up slowly, taking in the creaking of the old and rusty stone. She released it.

The serpent-dome was filled with a bang it has been waiting for its whole existence.


End file.
